Korea has long been known for lightning-fast internet and mobile broadband speeds. Now the country’s startups are also garnering global recognition. In the last 12 months Korean founders have been backed by the likes of Y Combinator, Tech Stars, Sequoia Capital, Altos Ventures, and Formation 8. Two local ventures also achieved ‘Unicorn’ status (a valuation of $1Bn or more) earlier this year. Kakao Talk, the country’s dominant mobile social platform is now valued at over $4Bn, after acquiring a controlling stake in Korean search portal Daum. And Coupang, Korea’s answer to Amazon, achieved unicorn status through $100M in pre-IPO investment from Sequoia Capital. It is expected that Coupang will file for a US IPO in 2015.
Recognizing the opportunities for US investors and tech companies in Korea a startup platform from Seoul, beSUCCESS, will bring their annual tech conference to Silicon Valley for the second year. The event will be held on September 12th at the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins in San Francisco. “As well as discussing opportunities in global entrepreneurship and investing we want to provide actionable advice about Asia market entry from those who have actually done it,” explained James Jung (beSUCCESS CEO) in an interview today.
The event, aptly named ‘beGLOBAL’, will also feature ten startups that the team from Korea has curated for their potential of successful US market entry. Korbit, one of Korea’s leading bitcoin companies, attracted investment through beGLOBAL last year and the hope is that many more similar stories will emerge from this year’s event.
A few Companies to watch out for at beGLOBAL
Kairos Watches: The team that developed Kairos has deep technology and manufacturing expertise. In the words of CEO Sam Yang “Kairos is the only company that is able to bridge the multi-billion dollar watch industry with wearable technology.” The company has already raised over $1M with customers in Switzerland and Japan making online pre-orders worth over $1M.
NF Labs: NF Labs represents one of only a small handful of enterprise software startups that are emerging from Korea. Sejun Ra, CEO of NF Labs explained in an interview today that his company is building an enterprise data analytics tool that aims to democratize the vast opportunities presented through big data analysis. His tool is already enabling departments across organizations to gather and analyze data without the need for development expertise. While already in profit NF Labs is looking to secure strategic investment to role out their US market entry.
Frasen: In today’s results focused and stressful world getting enough sleep is getting more difficult. Frasen has developed a hardware/software solution linked to a mobile app that allows users to monitor their body’s need for sleep and suggests ways to maximize sleep. The aim is to make people happier, by leading more healthy, less stressed lives. Frasen will appear at beGLOBAL to discover more about the needs for their service and to attract series A funding.
About beGLOBAL: beGLOBAL is a Global Tech Conference in San Francisco, with a Korean touch. Hosted by the organizers of beLAUNCH, the top startup conference in Korea, beGLOBAL brings together the best of Tech from the East and West.
Learn how Asia’s top venture companies grew to billion dollar + businesses. Discover how to overcome the challenges of successful entry to Asian markets. Understand why it can be beneficial to go global early and gain practical knowledge of how to do it. In addition, find out how to capitalize early on emerging investment opportunities in Asia and meet 10 of the hottest startups from Korea. 30% off all tickets here.
